Home again

So I am finally home after my week vacation in Southern Utah/Nevada/Arizona. Some things I missed, some things I didn't.

Missed:

Scott

my house

my own (normal) food

Did not miss:

work

work

work

Ahhhhhhh! I come back to pure disaster in my office! The stacks of paper are threatening to topple over and bury me! I wonder if I will ever sort it all out...

Family Vacation

This week I am on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and St. George.

These are my parents on vacation. Wow.

This is John at the Grand Canyon. Have hoodlum, will travel.

This is a much better picture of the Grand Canyon. Mostly because John isn't in it.

Carl

I went down to my parents house on Saturday night. Scott surprised me by showing up there unexpectedly. My brother (the mo) decided to introduce us to his fish.

This is Carl. Carl is a goldfish mixed with a shark, or so I have been told. Carl likes the dark. Carl doesn't swim around very much as he is very big and slow.

This is Jo Jo. She is very small and likes the light. She swims in and out of the rocks, and likes to play with Carl.

John decided to show us how Carl likes the dark and will swim around more when the tank lights are off. He turned the lights off and my dad (who was standing in the doorway) turned the room light off. Scott and I waited to see the fish swim. John pulled out his LED pen light so we could see if Carl was swimming.

BAM!!!!! SPLASH!!!!! THUNK!!!!!

I screamed. John screamed. Scott laughed. Dad didn't flinch. John kept screaming.

Poor little Carl had seen the light and had a minor freak out. He smashed into the lid of the tank in his attempt to escape the LED light and knocked water out of the tank and the food can off the lid. We all thought he had jumped out.

After that Carl didn't swim so straight. He hid in the corner for a little while until the water settled. I think he may have some brain damage from smashing into the tank so hard. He leans to the side when he swims.

Go karts

Last night we went to Teton Spectrum Raceway behind my second home, the plasma center. It was a singles activity for the branch, so there were about fifty people there playing games and racing go karts. Scott and I got in on the third round of races after laughing at all the mishaps of the other drivers. Sure enough, he passed me after about 2.5 seconds on the track (grrrrrr) and then as he was rounding a corner right in front of me he ran smack into the side of the track at full speed, t bone style. The waiting crowd all gasped with horror as he struck the wall. After he got started again and rounded the next corner, the man in charge pointed at him and made him pull over so that he could instruct him in proper driving etiquette. "You see that other pedal there? That's the brake pedal. Use it."

Even in a go kart he gets pulled over. That kid should not be allowed to drive...

My day in numbers

5 ~ number of times I hit the snooze button

15 ~ number of minutes I had to make the 20 minute drive to work

1 ~ number of lights I ran

2 ~ number of cars I cut off on the way

10 ~ number of miles over the speed limit that I went the whole way

184 ~ number of times I wanted to go home from work during the day

6 ~ number of minutes that I was waiting for Sarah to log off her computer

4 ~ number of times plasma center tried calling me by the wrong name before they realized they had the wrong chart

120 ~ number of minutes it took me to get in and out of the plasma center

4 ~ number of girls waiting for me at TGI Fridays

2 ~ number of times they asked me if Scott has proposed yet

4 ~ number of scoops of ice cream I had at TGI Fridays

2 ~ number of people joining Scott and me for a double date at the hockey game

1 ~ number of times Dan called Sasha the wrong name

3 ~ number of periods in a hockey game

2 ~ number of players that slammed into the wall right in front of us and caused me to scream

188 ~ number of times I jumped because the hockey puck hit the wall in front of me

3 ~ number of scoops of ice cream I had after the game

5 ~ number of times my stomach hurt in one day

My brother the "Mo"

I have recently discovered that my brother John has an aversion to clothing in public places. He is a bit of an exhibitionist, and would prefer to wear his "compression shorts" rolled up as far as they can go, speedo style, rather than regular old swimming trunks. (Be grateful I don't have a picture of that!)

I have also noticed that he has a tendency to be extremely comfortable with his best friend Johnny, so much so that I have given them both nicknames. I lovingly refer to John as "Mo", which of course would make "Ho" the best name for Johnny. The other day when these two crazies were up visiting me, Scott innocently asked them if they wanted to try out one of the styles of mattresses that he sells. They both jumped (literally) to climb into that bed together. I am hoping it is just a phase...

By the way, John is the one on the left that looks like he has his hand in Johnny's pocket...Of course, Johnny doesn't look too bothered by it...

Heise

Yesterday, Scott took me to Heise Hot Springs. The water was 106 degrees and sulfur-licious! The women's locker room was rather delightful, and before we left I was clever enough to snap a few pictures of it to inspire me on my next bathroom remodel job!

This is the lovely changing area.

Note the use of plastic green lawn chairs

for a vanity, and the black metal framed mirror.

The lighting is soooooooo flattering.

This is the bathroom.

The placement of the door allows the user

to stand on the toilet to shut the door.

The placement of the sink prevents the

unnecessary slamming of the door into the wall,

as the sink is there as a lovely backstop.

The stains on the floor were extra, I am sure...

One can only hope that someday I might have a locker room of this high standard for my very own. Concrete floors and peeping toms are extra...

Scott's birthday

Since Saturday was Scotland's birthday, we pretty much spent most of the weekend celebrating. Friday night my parents came to town and took us to dinner at Applebee's where I had a big baked potato with butter and sour cream, a 9 oz steak (medium well, thank you!) and some bright green broccoli florets. It was very nice, and fun to talk to my parents and see Scott interact with them.

For future reference, topics to avoid with my parents: Any illegal activities or activities that could be considered illegal by certain parties, stories about the various times you have been pulled over for illegal actions, and sentences that start with "when I was thrown in jail down in Florida..."

Saturday morning, I woke up at eight and made pancakes, sausage, and bacon and threw it all in the oven when it was cooked up. I rushed over to Scott's house and roused him from his peaceful slumber in the most rambunctious way I could. I dragged him out to my car and took him to my house and fed him my concoctions. We even had fruit. It was almost healthy.

Saturday night we went with Trent and Jess to the bowling alley down on first street and played. Scotland won, except for the five year old on the other lane that beat him by four points. I was rather intrigued at his bowling skills, strikes here and there, and always a nice clean release straight down the middle. I wonder where he learned such things. Has he been hiding some membership at a bowling league or a closet addiction to 14 pound bowling balls and clown shoes? Where did that come from?

The whole group ended up back at Trent and Jess' place for ice cream, and the two little girls were playing with us, rushing back and forth from my chair to Scott's chair. I heard various knock knock jokes from them, but the one that made me laugh the hardest was from little Adison.

Her: Knock Knock
Me: Who's there
Her: Scott
Me: Scott who?
Her: Scott who wants to kiss you on the lips!

Unfortunately, that one was said with such enthusiasm that the whole room heard it and erupted into laughter. Oh my...

Adventures in Albertsons

I went grocery shopping last night after work in an attempt to stock up my nearly empty kitchen. I had just donated plasma and stopped in at the Albertsons by my house. I was walking around the store picking up the necessary items when I started to feel very tired, so I decided to just grab the milk and then head up to the front to check out. As I was standing in the checkout line putting my items onto the counter, I started to feel like I was going to pass out. The pressure in my ears changed and I started sweating.The bagging assistant asked me if I was ok and offered to get me a glass of water. I told her that I just needed to sit down, and then I dropped to the floor. I hit my head on the side of the check stand and when I woke up, she was kneeling on the floor next to me and the checker was standing above me.

They asked me if I wanted an ambulance about five different times, which I refused of course. I called Scott and asked him to rescue me. When he went back to the check stand to pay, he asked the checker "So did she pass out before or after she saw the bill?"

The checker was not amused.

Grateful

I told Scott last night that I am really happy. I decided today that I need to write why I am happy so that I can reflect on it when I am feeling down.

I am grateful for Scott and the relationship I have with him. I think this is the part of my life that is making me the most happy right now. He takes such good care of me, and I am constantly amazed at the way he loves me. I am grateful that we have the same faith and we encourage each other to be better people. I love him so much. It makes me happy to see the direction that our relationship is going.

I am grateful that I have a job that I like. I see and talk to so many people everyday that are out of work or working jobs that they hate. I really like my job even though it is challenging and sometimes frustrating. I am grateful I have a steady paycheck that I can depend on and that I am not worried about losing my job.

I am grateful for my family and the support that they give to me. I am so glad I can lean on my parents and ask for advice and help anytime I need it. I love spending time with them and talking to them because they are all such unique individuals. I am grateful that I have them in this life, and that I have the assurity that I will be with them even after death.

I am grateful for my faith and the gospel that I was raised in. I am grateful for temples and prophets and the wonderful blessings that come into my life everyday. I am so glad that I can pray and know that my father in heaven is listening to me and cares about what happens to me and what I am going through.

I am grateful for good music and inspiring books. When I am stressed out these things help me remember what is important to me. I am grateful for the good people that have come into my life in the past two years that I have been back in Idaho. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

I guess I have just been thinking about all the things that I am thankful for. Don't get me wrong, I certainly spend plenty of time daydreaming about what I want, but I think it is important to recognize what the true priorities are in my life and what really makes me happy.

Skittles

Yesterday I was the happy recipient of a box of 36 packages of mixed berry skittles. I broke into one right away, but will be saving the rest for a rainy day. I love the colors and flavors in this particular kind of skittles, it makes me crave summer days and fresh berries. I am so desperate for warm weather. My favorite season has always been summer. I daydream about hot summer days and flip flops, cool drinks and the spray of water off the bow of the boat. I am soooooo anxious for summer to get here, this year even more so than others. I want to lay under a big shade tree in the cool green grass and fall asleep reading a book. I want to have picnics and barbeque's, ice cream and lemonade. I want to play in the water and relax in the sunshine. I love summer, and I especially love summer in Idaho where I am surrounded by people that I love. Somehow it just makes everything that much better...

~k~

Johnny Carino's

So the other day my boss ordered lunch for the office as a reward for such wonderful numbers from February. We were each able to select a meal from the Johnny Carino's menu, and Lauren went and picked them up. I was starving that day, and was sooooo relieved when Stacy announced that lunch was here.

I jubilantly skipped to the lunch room, and Lauren handed me my meal, complete with bread and salad. I took it back to my cave of an office and exuberantly dug in. I tasted the salad dressing and realized that they had not given me the ranch that I had requested, but instead had mistakenly put in gorgonzola dressing. It tasted fine, so I started happily munching away.

About five minutes into my salad, I felt a tickle in the back of my throat, so I cleared it. A few seconds later, it felt like I needed to clear it again. After about two minutes of me continually clearing my throat, my boss came over to my office. "Are you ok?" she asked with an amused smile on her face. I said "I think I have something stuck in my throat" and coughed again. She commanded that I open up and let her examine the back of my throat. I did and she exclaimed "Holy crap your throat and tongue are all swollen up!"

Fantastic. Just what I need.

Lauren had some benadryl pills in her bag, so they made me take two of them. Swallowing them was a lovely experience, but about thirty minutes later, I was fine again. I eyed the gorganzola dressing suspiciously. What could I possibly be allergic to that is in gorgonzola dressing? And how was I going to finish my salad without dressing? Just as I was about to stuff a piece of lettuce with the questionable dressing in my mouth, Stacy came around the corner. "Kristi! You are not seriously going to eat that again!"

Guilty. But it was really good dressing!

The truck

Boys and their toys. What can I say. Scott decided to bring home a six by six military truck last week. He needs it. Right, like I need a weekly manicure and massage. Anyhow, he was attempting to bridge the gap between myself and the truck last Friday night when he decided to take me out for a late night drive in it. Problem was he didn't tell me what we were going to do.

"Lets go outside" um, ok. It is freezing outside, but ok.

"Lets walk a little" walk? At ten o clock at night? We are so going to get mugged.

"I want to show you my truck" wow. Big, green and ugly. Can we go now?

"Here, just hop up in the seat so you can see the inside" I am sitting on an ugly green seat. Fantastic.

"Let me just start this up" Holy loud. Ahhh. Sign on jockey box says driver and co driver must wear ear protection.

"LETS GO FOR A DRIVE!!!" Yes he just yelled that at you. Oh my good gravy we are going to die!

So after we almost took out the fence, a parked car and the bridge, we made it out onto the city street. I was in the midst of a lovely panic attack while Scott exuberantly drove us to the farthest gas station he could find that was still in the city. He filled up with gasoline while I attempted to control my erratic breathing.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Furious nodding

The drive back was just as treacherous, and when we pulled in and he shut off the monstrosity of a truck, I started to breathe normally again. We walked back to his house without saying much. When we went inside, he looked at me with that "oh crap I screwed up" expression that guys are so good at. I in turn pulled the crying expression that girls are so good at. "I hate it! It scares me!" I sobbed into his shoulder.

After I had calmed myself down, again, he asked what I wanted to take up to the lodge the next day. The original plan was to take the truck. "I can get you some earplugs" he said enthusiastically. He is out of his freaking mind if he thinks I am going to subject myself to that torture ever again!

We drove my car. Veto power is a beautiful thing.

just breathe

When life is going at a breakneck speed, I have to slow down and remind myself that it is not the end of the world if I get a little behind. My relaxing weekend at the lodge is long forgotten with the pace of the workweek stretching out in front of me. My desk is covered in various papers, my inbox is overflowing, I have dishes and laundry and a bathroom to take care of at home. I feel very overwhelmed at this moment. It's like everything is spinning around me and I can't quite nail things down. I have to remind myself to breathe sometimes. I just hope I don't get so far behind that I can't catch up at all...